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Monday, January 07, 2008

HHDD #17: Pizza!

Hello 2008! Let me stand here for a moment, at the start of the New Year, and just inhale all the clean, new air filled with the promise of a slate-wiped-clean, shiny resolutions and the optimism to see them through, new adventures, and what appears to be (from this January vantage point at least) endless fields of possibilities. Mmmmm…

Ok, that’s done…now onwards and upwards my friends, let’s leave no stone unturned, no territory unexplored, and no story untold this year. Let this be a year for truth, hope, and love. And as always, good food :)

On that note, I can think of no better way for me to start my year than by opening next the round of Hay Hay it’s Donna Day! As I have mentioned before, I am quite the Donna Hay fan, and subsequently, HHDD is one of my absolute favorite blog-events (thank you Barbara for creating it!). So, as you can imagine, I was beyond thrilled to have won the last round and to host this one.

Alright…enough chat and on with the program. For this round of HHDD the theme I chose is…PIZZA! I have seen many gorgeous versions of this Italian staple in the pages of Donna’s books and magazines. Plus, I had never made pizza crust from scratch before. Plus, I have a sadly neglected pizza stone in need of some action. Plus, pizza is always fun! That was enough reason for me, and I hope for all of you as well to join me :)

- Place the yeast, sugar, and water in a bowl. Set aside until bubbles form.- Add the four, salt, and oil, and mix to form a smooth dough. Knead for 10 minutes or until smooth and elastic.- Place in a clean, oiled bowl, cover, and allow to stand in a warm place until it has doubled in size (Donna says about 20 minutes, but mine took longer). Makes one quantity.

- Preheat the oven to 220 C (425 F). Place flat baking trays in the oven to heat (I used my pizza stone!).- Divide the dough into four (I made three instead).- Roll out to 2-3 mm thick on a sheet of non-stick baking paper dusted with semolina.- Top each pizza base with some tomato slices, oregano, mozzarella, and olives. Drizzle over some oil.- Lift the baking paper and pizza onto the preheated trays.- Bake each pizza for 15 minutes or until golden and crisp.

I decided to choose the simplest recipe I could find (Classic Tomato) so you could run with it wherever preference, craving and imagination takes you. Pizza lends itself magnificently to interpretation so don’t be shy to show me your pizza-nality! All I ask is that your entries remain pizzas…i.e. pizza crust + topping :)

To get you started, here are some variations I made using the same dough:- Anchovy, Caper, and Roasted Garlic Pizza- Kesong Puti (local fresh white cheese) and Lucban Longanisa (native sausage we got on our trip to Bicol) Pizza

And don’t think that all pizzas should be savory…I would love to see some sweet pizzas too!

Before I get carried away, here are the rules:- Hay Hay Its Donna Day is open to all food and wine bloggers.- Entries submitted for HHDD must be made specifically for this event, although photos may be submitted to Does My Blog Look Good In This.- The host will select, make and post the original Donna Hay recipe without any changes. Participants may make the same recipe as is, or put their own spin on the recipe by altering the ingredients whilst remaining with the theme.- Entrants should include a link to the host in their post.- Entries can be made at any time once the event has been announced but must be posted and emailed to the host by the closing date.- Deadline for all posts to be up and submitted is January 26, 2008. I will be posting the round up a week later (February 2) and voting will begin then!- You can email all your entries to eighty_breakfasts(AT)yahoo(DOT)com on or before January 26, 2008. In your email, please include the following information: your blog name, your name, your location, your recipe name, and the permalink to your entry.- The winner with receive a food related prize care of yours truly!

welcome back, am sure you enjoyed your tropical christmas holiday. Here in toronto I was greeted with a -13 weather. I can smell that pizza from here, though, and feel the warmth from the oven. But I got the same question as wysgal. LOL at the thought of you tossing that dough in the air!

Hi Joey, that looks beautiful. Are you sure it took longer in our climate? I swear, when I made foccacia, it took a third of the time to rise :) Of course, that was not January. In any case, a slow rise is very much preferred. Congrats on using your pizza stone-- I think this may be the first HHIDD I'll join, luck permitting-- I'm on a diet. Sigh.

Hi Wysgal! Making pizza is fun...had a few friends over and did the different variations :) I really wanted to toss the dough but chickened out...I just kinda grabbed it a gave it a few wiggles...next time for sure! ;)

Hi Rosa! Thank you! :)

Hi Suzana! Thanks :) Yes, please do give it a try...this was my first time too!

Hi Socky! I did enjoy my "tropical" Christmas...and my New Year's at the beach :) I am sure you are enjoying your winter wonderland! Hope to see you when you get back!

Hi Manggy! Usually, my bread rises like crazy, threatening to escape and take over my kitchen...but this one was a slow riser...maybe the yeast was sleepy? Please join! You can make a diet pizza with vegetables and all! :) And you need the carbs because if you cut carbs out of your diet you will get cranky and ornery and we don't want that right? :)

Hi Glamah16! I can't wait to see what you and your boyfriend cook up! :)

What a perfect-looking pizza! I want to bite it off the screen -- you know what a pizza monster I am! ;-)

I love the local twist you did, too. I've enjoyed most Pinoy pizza flavors I've tried, whether with longganisa, tuyo, or even lechon! My dad's family is from Lucban, so I grew up with that longganisa; it's my absolute favorite kind. Did you slice it up, or crumble it?

Hi! I am excited to say this will be my first HHDD event. I only recently (in '07) found Donna (oh, where have you been all my life!). I love making pizza (LOL, made one yesterday before I read this) and can't wait to send one in! Holly

Hi Katrina! I crumbled it because that's what our friend told us to do...I've also made fried rice with it. If you have other ways to prepare it let me know! :) The longanisa with the kesong puti was so good...I added caramelized onions on top which I had sauteed in the oil from the longanisa!

Yummy home made pizza! I tried making pizza from scratch for the first time this weekend and it is just a billion times better than any store bought or fast food varieties. Now I'm all excited about trying more ideas and your challenge is just the inspiration one needs. By the way, thanks for adding me to your links and happy 2008!

Happy happy New Year to you Joey!! All the blessings and more delicious goodies to come in your kitchen...

I think pizza is a very challenging HHDD theme..good job! im not very familiar with Donna Hay (as im more familiar with french chefs), but this event gives me occassion to try her recipes..count me abord..let me see how i will interpret DH's pizza recipe!! i'll try them this weekend :-)

Happy New Year to you too Dhanggit! :) Donna Hay is a food stylist turned cookbook author and magazine editor. Her dishes are simple and easy and full of flavor...her style is clean and laid back :) Glad to hear you will be joining!

Hi Glamah16! I got it and what a delicious entry it is!

Hi Y! I'd love to see what you whip up with this recipe...wouldn't mind learning your tried and true crust recipes either! :)

Thanks Jmom! Happy 2008 to you too!

Hi Humming Bird! I hope you do :)

Hi Helene! I'm so happy to hear you like the challenge theme...pizza does inspire a lot of interpretations and variations :) Looking forward to seeing which one you decide to make!

Yay! I'm so happy you chose this theme since I adore pizza! I miss the days when we'd make them at home with my sisters (just like we used to always fix our own tacos too), so this is the perfect opportunity to bring that back. :)

Hi Kris! The recipe says 4 servings -- 1 solo-szed pizza each. I made 3 pizzas instead and it served about 4-5 people. I don't know what would be the best substitute although I know some people use cornmeal instead :) If you can't find either I'm sure a dusting of flour on the parchment paper should do the trick :)

here is a new one for your pizza twist...instead of oven baking use a non-stick pan with cover and grill the pizza in the pan...i love mixing parmesan, gruyere, mozzarella, with fresh oyster mushrooms cut into strips with fresh oregano ontop.

Just cook it on ontop of the standard cooker as if you are cooking anything...remember keep the lid closed...but personal advice is heat the pan first on the flame then place the dough and the toppings inside the pan and close the lid...open once in a while to check you pan cooked pizza...it is also qicker then oven and you can make amazing crusts by folding the side over once or twice but on every fold wet it slightly with water so the dough holds together

Place all the wet ingredients in a bowl except the chicken..mix well then add the chicken..let it marinade over night in the fridge.

When ready to cook place in a pyrex and preheat oven to a medium to high heat. then place pyrex inside and cook until all the sauce dissapears (about 45 mins to an hour)

then to serve make a garlic sauce...(place garlic in a blender and start blending adding olive oil drops at a time to create a suspension. then when you get a creamy consistency add a small boiled potato and do the same.)When that is ready get a pitta bread open it place the garlic sauce on it then lettuce tomato pickles.